Iowa Hawkeyes Lose Perfect Season To Northwestern Wildcats

Sports News - November 7th, 2009 - Written by Jimmy

It was bound to happen with all the close wins the Iowa Hawkeyes had to pull out to get to this point. Somewhere along the line the Hawkeyes were bound to stumble and it happened earlier today against Northwestern.

Coming into the game the Northwestern Wildcats didn't appear to be much of a matchup for the undefeated Hawkeyes however what appears on paper doesn't always happen on the field. In a game where Iowa was favored by 17 1/2 in the College Football Betting Lines, the Wildcats did not get discouraged.

Despite getting down early, the Wildcats battled with the Hawkeyes and eventually knocked Iowa QB Ricky Stanzi in the second quarter. It proved to be the turning point in the game as Iowa would struggle the rest of the day before going down 17-10 on their home turf.

Coming into this game, Iowa was ranked as high as 4th in the college football polls, and appeared to be the shining star of the Big Ten. While the record said they were perfect, the Iowa Hawkeyes proved to be anything but.

The previous 4 games, the Hawkeyes entered the 4th quarter trailing. In every one of those matchups, the Hawkeyes pulled it out late, sometimes by as little as 1 point. The thrilling 4th quarter comeback never came this week and now the Hawkeyes find themselves sitting at 9-1. This loss allows other teams in the Big Ten, namely Penn State, to have a shot to get back into the Big Ten title hunt.

This loss is certainly going to set Iowa back. Hopes were high in Iowa City, and cries of disrespect were being heard around the nation before this loss. Iowa fans no longer need to worry about not getting respect after dropping to a mid level team in the Big Ten.

Though Iowa stumbled, nothing should be taken away from Northwestern. The Wildcats played great defense and scored off of turnovers. One score came off the play which knocked Ricky Stanzi from the game with a fumble in the endzone. The Wildcat defense allowed no points after Stanzi left the game. They stopped the Hawkeyes on 4th down late in the 4th quarter, sealing the game, and ending Iowa's 14 game winning streak.

The win is the first over an AP top 10 team since the Wildcats beat the Ohio State Buckeyes in 2004.

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